Simple Pencil Case Sewing Tutorial ~ DIY Tutorial Ideas!

Easy pencil case sewing pattern & free tutorial for beginners. Back to school DIY Pencil Case.

What you need:

A zipper of at least 18 cm; longer is fine, you can always trim it.

2 pieces of fabric for the outer layer, preferably a slightly sturdier fabric, but that is not necessary: 8 x 22 cm.

2 pieces of fabric for the lining, preferably a light cotton: 8 x 22 cm.

4 small pieces of fabric for the zipper flaps; I used the same cotton for this as for the lining: 4 x 6 cm.

2 pieces of H250 interfacing, especially if your outer fabric isn't very sturdy: 6.5 x 21 cm.

I like using interfacing, even with sturdy fabrics. At first, you might think, "Oops, that wasn't necessary," but over time it becomes a bit more flexible, and you'll be glad you ironed it in between.

What you need to do:

Iron the interfacing onto your fabric pieces for the outside. On the short sides, you have a half-centimeter excess each time. On the long sides, leave a 1 cm margin on one side and, logically, a half-centimeter on the other. That centimeter is where you are going to sew the zipper.

I always sew with a 1 cm seam allowance and let the interfacing overlap just slightly, so that you stitch it in place along with the fabric. (Except on the side of the zipper, of course, otherwise it will look too puffy there.)

Now we are going to prepare the zipper. To make things easier later, we are first going to ensure that the two halves of the zipper stay together when you open it. That involves a bit of fiddling and almost stitching through your fingers, but you will thank yourself later. You can also do that by hand, but I find that even more of a hassle. The result will then look like this:

Now we are going to stitch the flaps. Cut the zipper just along the stitching from above and sandwich it on that side between 2 flaps, with the right sides of the fabric facing the zipper.

Stitch at 1 cm. Be careful when you reach the center of the zipper. If you are not careful, you could break a needle (or two) here. Yes, I speak from experience. Then fold the flaps to the right side and stitch through at 2 mm from the zipper.

Now trim the zipper. The section between the two flaps must be 16 cm. So, if you measure from the already stitched flap, you need to cut it off at 17 cm (after all, you are going to stitch your flaps to the other side at 1 cm shortly). Then repeat the steps above to attach the two remaining flaps to the zipper. The zipper is now finished, and the result should look like this:

Time to stitch the outer part of the pencil case and the lining to the zipper. I am quite a fan of Wonder Tape for stitching zippers. If you stick it a mm or two from the center of the zipper and then stitch as close to the zipper as possible, you won't stitch through the Wonder Tape and consequently won't have any glue on your needle. (The reason why I don't use it for bias binding.)

Arrange your fabric as follows:

at the bottom, the outer part of the pencil case, right side up on top of that, the (closed) zipper with the right side down and the handle on the left on top of that, the lining, right side down

For the outer part of the fabric: make sure that the side where you applied the interfacing 1 cm from the edge is facing the zipper.

Now use the zipper foot of your sewing machine and sew as close to the zipper as possible. It is best to sew with the outside of the pencil case facing up. Open the zipper a few centimeters, sew to about two centimeters before it, lift the zipper foot while keeping your needle in the fabric, and fiddle a bit until the zipper is closed again. Then continue sewing to the end of the zipper.

Then fold the fabric to the other side so that the wrong sides are facing each other. Iron.

For the second side, place the fabrics on top of each other as follows:

outer side, right side up
the zipper with the right side down. The zipper handle is now on the right side, and the 2 outer pieces are now lying with the right sides facing each other
the lining with the right side down, so the 2 pieces of lining are also lying with the right sides facing each other

This might all sound a bit complicated; hopefully, the photo provides some clarity:

Stitch again with your zipper foot right along the zipper and then fold this 2nd layer to the right side as well. You should now have something that looks like the photo below. The flaps are a bit too long, but we will trim that later.

Now stitch 1 to 2 mm next to the zipper. If your lining and the outer fabric have a contrasting color, you can optionally use two colors of thread. That was not necessary for this pencil case.

Now place the outer pieces right sides together and do the same with the lining. Pin at the bottom and sew the bottom closed on both. Note: leave a turning hole of approximately 4 cm in the lining.

To ensure your lining fits neatly, I stitch at 1.1 or 1.2 cm. Otherwise, you will have excess fabric in your pencil case, and that doesn't look very professional.

! Make sure your zipper is open now, otherwise you will end up with a turning problem later.

Now for the hardest part, at least for me to explain.

You need to press open the seams you just stitched and arrange the outer fabric and the lining so that the zipper is in the middle, with the aforementioned seams above and below. Do this as precisely as possible, because whether you end up with a straight or a slanted pencil case depends on this. Take a good look at the photos, because I can't seem to explain it properly. Now press very well so that everything stays neatly aligned.

If you want to sew in a label or something else, now is the time. Place it between the right sides of the outer fabric of the pencil case, as shown in the third photo below.